Monday, November 13, 2000
It's time for the Dogrib and tourism operators to sit down and negotiate.
Seven operators are worried they will be left out in the cold when the Dogrib Settlement Agreement is finalized in a couple of years.
The outfitters run their businesses under territorial regulations on land included in the Dogrib claim.
Operator Boyd Warner says uncertainty may drive some of his colleagues to seek legal advice. They should hold off, at least until they can meet and talk with the Dogrib.
Each has a stake and something to offer the other. The Dogrib own the land and the tourist operators have experience that may be useful to the Dogrib as they seek economic self-reliance.
A little co-operation now may save time, money, and goodwill down the road.
For most of us, homework was something to be loathed, and left to the last minute.
It meant time away from other, more enjoyable pursuits.
In the Beaufort-Delta, students have a lot to grumble about now thanks to a mandatory homework policy, but when they're out of school, they will likely be thankful.
A little bit of homework can go a long way to giving students the boost they need to be successful in school, and for that, the Beaufort-Delta education council deserves applause.
It's a strategy that raises the importance of education in the territory where school hasn't always been seen as necessary or relevant.
A look at some of the statistics illustrates the importance of the new emphasis on education.
Consider that the graduation rate in NWT was 41 per cent in 1999. That's a 28 per cent improvement over 1994, but we still lag far behind the rest of Canada. Simply put, our children aren't completing what today should not be considered even a minimum level of education.
Examine, as well, student achievement in reading and writing. Again NWT students follow the Canadian pack.
In 1998, just 55 per cent of 13 year olds and 50 per cent of 16 year olds achieved the expected standard for reading. Students did better in writing, at 79 per cent and 60 per cent, for 13 and 16 year olds, but still far behind national expectations.
The homework policy is intended to focus students on their work, and ensure that parents get more involved in their child's education.
It's a policy that other districts should examine and emulate.
But it's only part of the solution. Curriculum must be continually improved to reflect the different cultural needs and languages of the North so students can understand why they need to be computer literate and still respect the teachings of aboriginal elders.
The question we need to ask ourselves isn't about whether or not the government should have fought to create a unified time zone. The question before us now is what message did our leaders send out over the airwaves with their offer to compromise at this stage of the game?
If, as Jack Anawak claims, the decision points to their willingness to listen, why weren't their ears tuned in this past year as Baffin communities squawked about the time zone? Touting the decision as compromise is nothing more than the spin they've put on it to try and convince Nunavummiut of their benevolence.
The hamlet councils should keep on complaining about high fuel prices and they should continue to struggle - loudly and vocally -- about reduced capital budgets because the message that comes across loud and clear in the GN's decision to again amend the time zone is that when push comes to shove, the government buckles under the pressure.
As the old adage goes, when it rains it pours and such is the case with election mania in Nunavut.
If things stay the way they are, Nunavummiut could end up as professional voters by the time the Year 2000 wraps up following a seemingly endless schedule of elections past and present.
Voting, or preparing to vote by listening to candidate after candidate from every level of government and Inuit organization, is pretty much becoming a regular part of peoples' days.
Get up, go to work, go to the polls, go home -- nothing out of the ordinary if you live in Nunavut.
Between municipal elections, district education authority elections, a fast approaching federal election, closely followed by a territorial byelection, the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Kitikmeot Inuit Association elections, no community, riding or region goes without facing the call of duty.
The danger, of course, is that the abundance of elections may lead to voter apathy.
Simply exhausting people's will to cast their ballot, even when they know every vote counts.
That and exhausting the many returning officers' desire to orchestrate the events that end in a combination of glory and defeat.
People under 19 years old and 16 years old for Inuit organization elections, take pleasure in the fact that you are exempt from casting one of the many ballots now waiting to be filled out in the privacy of an unstable, three-sided cardboard shelter.
The upside, of course, is that Nunavummiut are actively involved in controlling who controls their destiny and their money.
To their credit, few organizations go without that crucial element of voter input, and in a sense, bring the politicking home to the people.
It's easy these days to get caught up in everything the world has to offer.
From television to the Internet, we're bombarded with information on just about anything that might strike our fancy.
It takes someone like Sandra Eyegetok to remind us that there is another very important source of information: our elders.
Her efforts to gather and record elders' knowledge about climate and caribou opened her eyes to their wisdom.
"I have more respect for elders now," she said.
It's a feeling that should be shared by all as we try to understand not only the changes happening to the land, but to our young people who will inherit it.
A 12-minute play that originated in Wrigley has the potential to become an important educational tool for Deh Cho youth.
Call of the Loon, a production by the Pehdzeh Ki Players was written by Lewis Beck and follows the life of a Dene youth who has been diverted from his culture by the temptations of alcohol and drugs. With the help of his grandfather, the youth becomes an important role model for his peers.
The production involves seven young actors and the Deh Cho Drummers, and the costumes are the creation of local designer D'arcy Moses.
While it's only been performed at the local high school, the drama club is planning to tour other Deh Cho communities.
Keep up the good work. Creative projects like this can have a positive influence on our youth.